Assembly-type small leisure boat and method for manufacturing same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed in the present invention is an assembly-type small leisure boat. The leisure boat according to the present invention comprises: a boat body on which people board; three or more connection rods of which one end is coupled to the boat body and are symmetrically arranged with the boat body at the center; and floating bodies respectively connected to the other end of each of the connection rods. According to the present invention, the stability of the leisure boat is significantly improved due to the three or more floating bodies symmetrically arranged around the boat body. In particular, the boat body is positioned at the center of the folating bodies, and thereby reduces rocking of the boat body due to movement of users or waves and prevents the boat body from being easily capsized. The present invention also has the advantages of not easily sinking even when the boat body is damaged, easy transportation and storing by to being assemblable, and significantly contributing to enlargement of the base and popularization of water leisure activities by enabling supply at an affordable cost due to mass-production. Furthermore, the present invention can prevent water pollution by manufacturing using environmentally friendly materials instead of existing FRP.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a small leisure boat, and moreparticularly, to a leisure boat that is inexpensive throughmass-production and is remarkably improved in terms of safety andconvenience.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, boats used for water leisure activities such as a watersideexcursion, fishing, water skiing, and scuba diving can be classifiedinto a soft boat made of vinyl or rubber and a hard boat made of FRP(Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) or metal.

A soft boat is significantly decreased in volume when being evacuated,so it is easy to carry and keep. However, the soft boat is too light, soit is easily turned over by carelessness of passengers or waves and istoo much shaken, and accordingly, the passengers can hardly move on theboat. Further, there is a large possibility of an accident due topuncture and it is required to inject and excavate air for every use.

On the other hand, a hard boat is larger than the soft boat, so it isrelatively safe, but ordinary people have difficulty in purchasing itbecause it is expensive. Further, it is too large and heavy, so it isdifficult to carry and keep. For example, even if a hard boat is small,it is required to connect a trailer for the boat to a vehicle or to loadthe boat on a truck in order to transport the boat to a desired place.Accordingly, most boat possessors have to anchor their boats at specificanchorages and use the boat around the anchorages, so the use range isvery limited.

In order to remove this inconvenience of the hard boat, an assembly-typeboat equipped with a foldable cage on a pair of air tubes has beendisclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2006-0134556(published on Dec. 28, 2006), but the inconvenience ofinjecting/evacuating air into/out of the air tubes still remains and theair tubes may be damaged. Further, there are many parts, so it takes toomuch time to assembly/disassembly the boat.

Further, the hard boat of the related art has a problem in that it islikely to sink when cracks are generated on the boat body by externalshock. In order to solve this problem, as in Patent Registration No.10-1224156 (published on Jan. 14, 2013), an air tube is additionallymounted on the boat body, but there is still the inconvenience ofinjecting/evacuating air and the manufacturing cost is increased becausethe structure is complicated.

On the other hand, a hard boat made of FRP of the related art ismanufactured by applying plastic resin on the inner side of anarm-shaped mold and then bonding glass fiber using an adhesive, but thismanufacturing method takes too long time, so it is not suitable for theway of manufacturing small leisure boats that has to produce thousandsto tens of thousands of products having the same size in a short periodof time. Further, recently, as it has been known that an FRP boat causeswater contamination, the demand for an environment-friendly leisure boatis increasing.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

The present invention is directed to providing an assembly-type smallleisure boat that can be easily carried and kept. Further, the presentinvention provides a small leisure boat that is not easily turned overby carelessness of a user or large waves and is safe without sinkingeven if the boat body is damaged.

Further, the present invention is directed to contributing toenlargement of the lowest stratum and popularization of water leisure byreducing the price of leisure boats through mass-production so thatanyone can purchase them without burden. Further, the present inventionis directed to protecting the water quality by providing a leisure boatmade of an environment-friendly material.

Technical Solution

One aspect of the present invention provides a small leisure boatincluding: a boat body where people stay; three or more connection rodscoupled to the boat body at ends and symmetrically arranged around theboat body; and floating bodies coupled to the other ends of theconnection rods, respectively.

The boat body of the small leisure boat according to the presentinvention may include a lower body having a space where people stay andan upper body coupled to the top of the lower body, and the connectionrods may be coupled to the lower body.

Further, the lower body of the small leisure boat according to thepresent invention may have rod seats formed in a groove shape andholding ends of the connection rods and stoppers protruding upwardinside the rod seats.

Further, the small leisure boat according to the present invention mayfurther include connection rod covers disposed on the rod seats, havinga curved surface corresponding to the connection rods, and coupled tothe lower body at both ends.

Further, in the small leisure boat according to the present invention,the connection rods may have an elastic projection protruding outwardand a fastening hole where the elastic projection is inserted may beformed at the rod seats or the connection rod covers.

Further, in the small leisure boat according to the present invention,pipe-shaped rod seats where ends of the connection rods are inserted maybe coupled to the lower body and stoppers protruding upward inside therod seats may be formed.

In the small leisure boat according to the present invention, theconnection rods may include a first connection rod coupled to the centerof the bow of the boat body, a second connection rod coupled to a sideof the stern of the boat body, and a third connection rod coupled to theother side of the stern of the boat body, and the angle between thefirst connection rod and the second connection rod and the angle betweenthe first connection rod and the third connection rod may be the same.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a method ofmanufacturing a small leisure boat that includes: a first vacuum formingprocess of forming a lower body, where people stay, using thermoplasticresin such that the lower body has three or more rod seats; a secondvacuum forming process of forming an upper body using thermoplasticresin; a process of coupling ends of the connection rods to the rodseats of the lower body; a process of coupling floating bodies to theother ends of the connection rods; and a process of coupling the upperbody to the lower body.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, stability of a leisure boat can beconsiderably improved by three or more floating bodies symmetricallyarranged around a boat body. In particular, the boat body is positionedat the center inside the floating bodies, so the boat is little shakenand is not easily turned over even by movement of people or waves.Further, even if the boat body is damaged, the boat does not easilysink.

Further, since the boat is assembly type, it can be easily transportedand kept, and it can be supplied at a low price through mass-production,so it is possible to significantly contribute to enlargement of thelowest stratum and popularization of water leisure. Further, since theboat is made of an environmental-friendly material instead of FRP of therelated art, it is possible to prevent water contamination.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a leisure boat according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the leisure boat according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the leisure boat according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4a and 4b are views showing a rod seat on a boat body.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a connection rod cover disposed over the rodseat.

FIGS. 6a and 6b are views showing a method of connecting a connectionrod to a boat body.

FIGS. 7a to 7d are views showing various modifications for connecting aconnection rod to a boat body.

FIGS. 8a and 8b are views showing a method of connecting a floating bodyto a connection rod.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a modification of the floating body.

FIGS. 10a and 10b are views showing an assembly process of a boat body.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the assembly process of a boatbody.

FIGS. 12a to 12f are views sequentially showing a process ofmanufacturing a lower body.

FIG. 13 is a view showing a process of manufacturing an upper body.

MODES OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are respectively a perspective view, a bottomperspective view, and an exploded perspective view of a leisure boat 100according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The leisure boat 100 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, as shown in the figures, includes a boat body 110 wherepeople stay, three connection rods 131, 132, 133 protruding outward withone end connected to the boat body 110, and three floating bodies 121,122, 123 coupled to the other ends of the connection rods 131, 132, 133,respectively.

The leisure boat 100 according to an embodiment of the present inventiondistributes the load of the boat body 110 with people thereon to thethree floating bodies 121, 122, and 123, so safety is largely increasedin comparison to leisure boats of the related art which depend on onlythe buoyancy by the boat body 110.

In particular, since the floating bodies 121, 122, and 123 generatebuoyancy at the positions spaced by the lengths of the connection rods131, 132, and 133 from the boat body 110, the boat body 110 is noteasily shaken. Accordingly, even if a passenger stands up and moves onthe boat body 110, the leisure boat 100 is not largely shaken, so thepassenger hardly fall into water or the boat body 110 is hardly turnedover.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the three floating bodies121, 122, and 123 are arranged at about 120° around the center of theboat body 110. That is, the first connection rod 131 is connected to thecenter of the bow of the boat body 110, the second connection rod 132 isconnected to a side of the stern, the third connection rod 133 isconnected to the other side of the stern, and then the floating bodies121, 122, and 123 are coupled to the connection rods 131, 132, and 133,respectively.

However, the number of the floating bodies is not limited to three, sofour or more floating bodies may be arranged at regular angles aroundthe center of the boat body 110.

According to the structure of the boat body 100, in detail, the boatbody 110 is composed of a lower body 112 and an upper body 114 that canbe separated.

As described above, when the lower body 112 and the upper body 114 areseparately manufactured, the shapes of the molds for manufacturing thelower body 112 and the upper body 114 are simple, so it is possible toreduce the time and cost for manufacturing a mold and it is alsopossible to remarkably decrease the manufacturing cost throughmass-production using vacuum forming.

It is preferable that the lower body 112 and the upper body 114 are madeof thermoplastic resin such as ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), PP(Polypropylene), PE (Polyethylene), and PC (Polycarbonate). Using thesematerials can reduce water contamination, as compared with hard boatsmade of FRP of the related art, and the vacuum forming allows forreduction of manufacturing time.

The lower body 112 has a recessed internal space for people andgenerates buoyancy. Although the inside of the lower body 112 is emptyin the drawings, but seats may be integrally formed with the lower bodyin the forming process or may be additionally coupled for theconvenience of users. Further, if the lower body 112 is made of atransparent material, users can look into the water, so it is possibleto increase interest of the users.

The upper body 114 has an edge 115 jointed to the top of the lower body112 and a cover 116 extending from the edge 115 and partially coveringthe top of the lower body 112.

The edge 115 and the cover 116 may be integrally manufactured or may beseparately manufactured and then assembled. Further, the cover 116 maynot be provided, if necessary. Further, though not shown in the figures,a specific transparent cover (not shown in the figures) may be coupledto the upper body 114 to protect passengers.

Further, as shown in the figures, a motor seat 118 where a motor can bemounted may be formed at the rear of the upper body 114.

As shown in FIG. 4a , coupling holes 151 where the connection rods 131,132, and 133 are fitted and rod seats 155 for holding ends of theconnection rods 131, 132, and 133 are formed at the lower body 112. Thecoupling holes 151 may be, as shown in the figures, circular holes ormay be slits formed downward from the top of the lower body 112.

Ends of the rod seats 155, which are grooves corresponding to the outersides of the connection rods 131, 132, and 133, communicate with eachother through the coupling holes 151.

It is preferable to form a stopper 157 at he other ends of the rod seats155, that is, the opposite sides to the coupling holes 151, as show inFIG. 4b . The stoppers 157 keep the connection rods 131, 132, and 133inserted from the outside at predetermined positions, so assemblingbecomes easy.

With the connection rods 131, 132, and 133 are seated in the rod seats155, the connection rods 131, 132, and 133 can be fixed to the lowerbody 112 by bolts etc.

For convenient assembly, as shown in FIG. 5, it is preferable to couplea connection rod cover 160 to the top of the rod seat 155.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the connection rod cover 160is made of a material that is the same as the lower body 112 and fixedto the lower body 112 by thermal bonding etc.

The connection cover 160 is a part longitudinally cut off from a pipe,in which the inner side is curved to correspond to the connection rods131, 132, and 133. Accordingly, a space where the connection rods 131,132, and 133 are inserted is defined between the connection rod cover160 and the rod seat 155, so the connection rod cover 160 and the rodseat 155 function as a pipe where the connection rods 131, 132, and 133are inserted. A fastening hole 162 for fixing a connection rod may beformed at the connection rod cover 160.

When the connection rod 131 is inserted into the coupling hole 151 withthe connection rod cover 160 mounted, as shown in FIG. 6a , theconnection rod cover 160 supports the connection rod 131, so a user canfix the connection rod 131 to the lower body 112 in this state.

For the convenience of coupling, it is preferable to form an elasticprojection 137 at an end of the connection rod 131 and to form fasteningholes 159 and 162, where the elastic projection 137 is inserted, at therod seat 155 and the connection rod cover 160.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6, the connection rod 131 is pushed intothe coupling hole 151 until it is locked to the stopper 157 and is thenturned until the elastic projection 137 is inserted into the fasteningholes 159 and 162, thereby finishing coupling the connection rod 131.

The connection rod 131 may be coupled in other various ways.

For example, the connection rod 131 and the lower body 112 may bedirectly fixed by bolts.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7a , the connection rod cover 160 is notthermally bonded to the lower body 112 and both ends of the connectionrod cover 160 may be fixed to the lower body 112 by bolts 170.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7b , it may be possible to attach a fixingpipe 160′ to the rod seat 155 and then insert the connection rod 131into the fixing pipe 160′. In this case, it is also preferable to formthe stopper 157 at the rear end of the rod seat 155 to stop theconnection rod 131. The fixing pipe 160′ may be disposed inside thelower body 112, or as shown in FIG. 7c , an end of the fixing pipe 160′may protrude out of the lower body 112.

It may be possible to form the rod seat 155 only at the outside of thelower body 112 and mount the connection rod cover 160 or the fixing pipe160′ in the rod seat 155.

Further, for safer coupling, it may be possible to fix the connectionrod 131 to the lower body 112 using the bolts 170 inserted through theconnection rod cover 160, the connection rod 131, and the lower body112, as shown in FIG. 7d , without using the elastic projection 137 onthe connection rod 131. In this case, the elastic projection 137 may beused together.

It is preferable to use a carbon pipe that is light and has highdurability for the connection rods 131, 132, and 133, but their materialis not limited thereto.

It is preferable to use EPP (Expandable Polypropylene) that is light andhas high durability for the floating bodies 121, 122, and 123 coupled tothe connection rods 131, 132, and 133, respectively, but their materialis not limited thereto.

As shown in FIGS. 8a and 8b , the floating bodies 121, 122, and 123 havea through-hole 127 where the connection rods 131, 132, and 133 areinserted. After the connection rods 131, 132, and 133 are fitted, it ispreferable to couple a fixing cap 180 to the ends of the connection rods131, 132, and 133 at the opposite side of the through-hole 127 toprevent separation of the floating bodies 121, 122, and 123. Obviously,the fixing cap 180 is supposed to be larger in outer diameter than theconnection rods.

The fixing cap 180 may be forcibly fitted, thread-fastened, or fixed bya bolt to the ends of the connection rods 131, 132, and 133.

Although an expanding portion 128 where the fixing cap 180 is insertedis formed at an end of the through-hole 127 of the floating bodies 121,122, and 123, the present invention is not limited thereto.

Other than making the floating bodies 121, 122, and 123 in a integralsphere, as shown in FIG. 9, it is preferable to manufacture sphericalfloating bodies by coupling two semispherical bodies to the connectionrods 131, 132, and 133, respectively. This is because it is easy tocarry or keep semispherical bodies.

Further, the floating bodies 121, 122, and 123 are not limited to thespherical shape, so they may be manufactured in various shapes. Further,it may be possible to attach accessories of various characters that canincrease amusement to the floating bodies 121, 122, and 123. Further, inconsideration of the fact that the floating bodies 121, 122, and 123 aredisposed fairly away from the boat body 110, it may be possible to mounta rescue handle, which a drowning person can easily hole, on thefloating bodies 121, 122, and 123.

As described above, the boat body 110 of the leisure boat 100 accordingto an embodiment of the present invention is achieved by assembling thelower body 112 and the upper body 114, which are separatelymanufactured, as shown in FIGS. 10a and 10 b.

It is preferable that a top edge 112 a of the lower body 112 is insertedin a bottom edge 114 a of the upper body 114.

Referring to FIG. 11, in detail, a step 112 b is formed outward at thelower end of the top edge 112 a of the lower body 112. Accordingly, thebottom edge 114 a of the upper body 114 which is positioned outside thelower body 112 is supported by the step 112 b.

As described above, the lower body 112 and the upper body 114 may becoupled and used in this state, but it is preferable to fasten the topedge 112 a of the lower body 112 and the bottom edge 114 a of the upperbody 114 with bolts etc. to more safely use them.

On the other hand, according to an embodiment of the present invention,by forming the lower body 112 and the upper body 114 of the boat body110 in vacuum forming that uses thermoplastic resin and then assemblingthem, the molds are simplified, so it is possible to reduce themanufacturing cost and manufacture small leisure boats in largequantities.

Herein, a method of manufacturing the boat body 110 of the leisure boat100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is describedmainly with the lower body 112 with reference to FIGS. 12a to 12 f.

First, a circular plate 10 made of thermoplastic resin is mounted onto amoving frame 20. The moving frame 20 can horizontally moved by a movingunit not shown in the figures.

Next, the moving frame 20 is moved into a heating chamber and thecircular plate 10 is heated by heaters over and under the circular plate10 (FIG. 12a ).

When the circular plate 10 is sufficiently heated, as shown in thefigures, it softens and slightly sags down, and in this state, thecircular plate 10 is moved onto a prepared mold 50. Though not shown inthe figures, the mold 50 has a plurality of vacuum holes and the lowerspace of the mold is connected to a vacuum pump (FIG. 12b ).

Next, the mold 50 is moved up or the moving frame 20 is moved down, sothe softening circular plate 10 put on the mold 50. The vacuum pump isoperated to evacuate the lower space of the mold 50, so the circularplate 10 is brought in completely close contact with the mold 50. Afterthe circular plate 10 is brought in close contact with the mold 50, thecircular plate 10 is cooled by operating a cooling fan (FIGS. 12c and12d ).

Next, the formed circular plate 10 is separated from the mold andunnecessary portions are cut off by a cutting robot etc., therebyfinishing forming the lower body 112. In this process, the couplingholes 151 where the connection rods 131, 132, and 133 are inserted andbolt holes may be formed (FIGS. 12e and 12f ).

Next, the connection rod covers 160 are mounted on the rod seats 155 ofthe lower body 112 and other additional facilities are mounted.

The upper body 114 is also manufactured by vacuum forming substantiallyin the same sequence as the lower body 112, as shown in FIG. 13.

When the lower body 112 and the upper body 114 are manufactured in thisprocess, the small leisure boat 100 is completed through a process ofcoupling the connection rods 131, 132, and 133 to the lower body 112, aprocess of coupling the upper body 114 to the top of the lower body 112,and a process of coupling the floating bodies 121, 122, and 123 to theends of the connection rods 131, 132, and 133.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention was describedabove, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be changed,modified, or replaced in various ways.

For example, although the three connection rods 131, 132, and 133 arecoupled to the lower body 112 in the embodiment described above, if thelower body 112 and the upper body 114 are firmly fastened by bolts etc.,the connection rods 131, 132, and 133 may be coupled to the upper body114.

Further, although the three connection rods 131, 132, and 133 arehorizontally arranged, they may be arranged at an angle such that thesides at the boat body 110 are higher and the sides at the floatingbodies 121, 122, and 123 are lower.

Further, it may be possible to connect the floating bodies 121, 122, and123 to save a life in preparation for a person drowning due tocarelessness.

Further, the shape of the boat body 110 is not limited to that shown inthe figures and may be changed in various shapes.

Further, the small leisure boat 100 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention can be moved by a motor, an oar, a sail, and to thisend, it may further include a unit for mounting the motor, oar, andsail. Further, a solar cell plate may be installed on the boat body 110to obtain power, and a lighting unit such as an LED may be mounted sothat the boat can be located even in evening. Further, a GPS orsatellite communication equipment for finding the position of the boatand communication may be mounted.

As described above, the present invention may be changed, modified, orreplaced in various ways, and even if the present invention is changed,modified, or replaced, it should construed as being included in thescope of the present invention as long as it includes the spirit of thepresent invention described in claims.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS AND SYMBOLS

10: Circular plate 20: Frame

50. 50′: Mold 100: Leisure boat

110: Boat body 112: Lower body

112 a: Top edge 114: Upper body

114 a: Bottom edge 115: Edge

116: Cover 118: Motor seat

121.122,123: First, second, third floating bodies 127: Through-hole

128: Expanding portion 131,132,133: First, second, third connection rods

137: Elastic projection 151: Coupling hole

155: Rod seat 157: Stopper

159: Fastening hole 160: Connection rod cover

160′: Fixing pipe 162: Fastening hole

170: bolt 180: Fixing cap

1. A small leisure boat comprising: a boat body where people stay; threeor more connection rods coupled to the boat body at ends andsymmetrically arranged around the boat body; and floating bodies coupledto the other ends of the three or more connection rods, respectively. 2.The small leisure boat of claim 1, wherein the boat body includes alower body having a space where people stay and an upper body coupled tothe top of the lower body, and the three or more connection rods arecoupled to the lower body.
 3. The small leisure boat of claim 2, whereinthe lower body has rod seats formed in a groove shape and holding endsof the three or more connection rods and stoppers protruding upwardinside the rod seats.
 4. The small leisure boat of claim 3, the smallleisure boat comprising connection rod covers disposed on the rod seats,having a curved surface corresponding to the three or more connectionrods, and coupled to the lower body at both ends.
 5. The small leisureboat of claim 3, wherein the three or more connection rods have anelastic projection protruding outward and a fastening hole where theelastic projection is inserted is formed at the rod seats or theconnection rod covers.
 6. The small leisure boat of claim 2, whereinpipe-shaped rod seats where ends of the three or more connection rodsare inserted are coupled to the lower body and stoppers protrudingupward inside the rod seats are formed.
 7. The small leisure boat ofclaim 1, wherein the three or more connection rods include a firstconnection rod coupled to the center of the bow of the boat body, asecond connection rod coupled to a side of the stern of the boat body,and a third connection rod coupled to the other side of the stern of theboat body, and the angle between the first connection rod and the secondconnection rod and the angle between the first connection rod and thethird connection rod are the same.
 8. A method of manufacturing a smallleisure boat, the method comprising: a first vacuum forming process offorming a lower body, where people stay, using thermoplastic resin suchthat the lower body has three or more rod seats; a second vacuum formingprocess of forming an upper body using thermoplastic resin; a process ofcoupling ends of the connection rods to the rod seats of the lower body,respectively; a process of coupling floating bodies to the other ends ofthe connection rods; and a process of coupling the upper body to thelower body.